Photo: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI / AFP / Getty Images
President Donald Trump unveiled new reciprocal tariffs against foreign nations during an event at the Rose Garden on Tuesday (April 2), which he dubbed "Liberation Day."
"April 2, 2025, will forever be remembered as the day American industry was reborn, the day America's destiny was reclaimed, and the day that we began to make America wealthy again," he said.
“It’s our declaration of economic independence,” Trump said, declaring this will be the beginning of a "golden age of America."
Trump said the money raised by the tariffs will be used to “reduce our taxes and pay down our national debt.”
“For years, hard-working American citizens were forced to sit on the sidelines as other nations got rich and powerful, much of it at our expense. But now it’s our turn to prosper,” Trump added.
Trump said that the tariffs would be half of what the United States is charged, including the effects of currency manipulation and trade barriers. He showed a large chart detailing the tariffs, which include a 34% levy on Chinese imports and a 20% levy on imports from the European Union. Others include a 24% tariff on Japanese goods and a 49% tariff on goods from Cambodia.
Trump also said there would be a minimum 10% tariff on all imports.
Vice President JD Vance and several Cabinet officials were in attendance, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Education Secretary Linda McMahon, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, EPA administrator Lee Zeldin, HUD Secretary Scott Turner, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. House Speaker Mike Johnson was also present for the announcement.